Fluid projector



Aug. 23, 1949. T.- R. HAYN-ER ET AL FLUI'D PROJECTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 24, 1945 T MM 3v, m R w M O. m

w E O L E R O D 0 M T 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 R E b I MAM m 3H m mm, 1 Rm M wm ME M m m TZW /M a T. R. HAYNER ET AL FLUID PROJECTOR Aug. 23, 1949.

' Filed Feb. 24, 1945 Patented Aug. 23, 1949 2 ciaaiis. (c1. Ely- 2ft) (Granted act 3, I I

amended April-30,- 1928; 370 G 757) I The invention described. herein: may be mama: factured and used by or for the Government; for governmental purposes,v without thepayment; to user: any royalty thereom This invention relates particularly to a weapon termed the one-shot flamethrower" developed to meet the need in the field for an? inexpensive lightweight flame thrower.

An: object of this invention is to provide: a; portable flame thrower having various tactical uses in combat, especially when it is unsuitable to use the conventional flame thrower which. iscarried on the back'cf a soldier; I

Another object isto provide a weapon which may be made to function an emplacement for projecting a liquid chemical agent with an efiec time range. I

A further object is to provide a projector which functions automatically or semi autotnatfcally.

Accomplislnnent of the above and'furthercbjects will become apparent from the renewing-description. I

chemical agent projector provided this invention involves" the principle of actuating-a piston by gas pressure developed insidea tubular barrel for the purpose of forcing a: liquid chemical agent through a; nozzle a; discharge} assembly at one end of the Barrel. Gas pressurereqiiii'ed to actuate the piston may be generated front a pyrdtecnme solidmaterial or may he developed from a liquefied. or highly compressedfgaslqy a propelling charge assembly; Thefnnctioning of the apparatus may be initiated manually where the apparatus is in position for operation; by remote control or by an automatic delay device; because following the initiationof theop'erati the apparatus is capable of functioning autorn cally to: eject a stream of chemical agent} asubstantial distance. Means are proviclegito 0b a substantially complete discharge; Also; meansare provided for obtaining automatic igrlftion of an incendiary agent. I

A practical embodiment of the wea tn in the form of a; one-shot"- flame thrower" is} illustrated inthei accompanying drawn-gamma I I Figure I showsa longitudinal crcss section view of the body assemblmand' II I I I I I K Figure 2 shows a longitudinal cross seamennert of the discharge assembly as attached tgitfief is charge end of the body assembly in 'the one-shot flame thrower. I I I V Figure 3 shows a reianve y enlarged antidetai'le'd; cross section of a fuse'i'gniter suitamaror use inthe-dischargeassembly; I

Fignree shows a; longitudinal cross semen view 'Z n ih ttid aaaa aa tiadetails on an alternate form of igniter. t b flna eemb r ompli es 1 m n? bi the sheetsteel barrel t wh-ich contains filling, cum

2 i t a leer I huses a pr lling cha-rge assembly, s V8511. s. he et nr bis o Th s e ecal ba rel-br ne anl i d f abou -t 1 /2 inches} tapersdov'vn at their'ont; at about afiwd ereeiaa ei aa 'r j h e 24.- A i t -.nal l zih ead d a et r q -w d t t is an m a and; i o t n -1 tadfiii i te s crewei ,s urez iseaq bwrfi 6f t tharee an ee emb ft-h k the c li ri al-basic g en and flan d a re ai s es o aske 1 an a fl n cl shee steel, b.0 3? covert. Thebodyeover 8 is bolted to the body L b qu e mph b lts: 9:- ,v Thm gh a #6 5? sea e t e..b co e 8 s Wel e he; wer ra ort, flswh h co t ns he: ma larem 9 n i a r ne pi sprm i z-l A re a nin pin 1 Ha l tl ircugh: the; bottle support l 0; and the firing pin tapem d cul n to; heir l neta esi in fin t fl fir n piabae i e ie h res nea h f n p is ina 1 n rin -.115a$ rou -z t r t ini -p n; 15 i o i ci, at wi h" raw o the, re i n 31 hen, th flame t rower: i-sufi r The. n areea. o tion; o v t e bott e supper Mi-" nside h od covert assleeve: 15 i sth v d d n e a tcrec thcexterna tt r adsion the ut of a st e 'oc rbon dioxide bottle l6 similar to the bottle usedgby theaAir. Forces; on life tarts. Between the point vrherethe bott essurn twe t t o cover andlthe'point wheretheinternal threads on the enlar ed portion-r of the. bottle support: begin, iQlhj fl /eeinchholes l:1 through the wall of the bottlezsurportserveasigasiportst vo ,7 s The pronellingt charge assembly, comprises primainly the steel: bottle, l6, which, contains the l uid ca on; dioxide: us d as rrpp lline ch e 315 5: flam thr wn: .a n o. th m uth Qt th b t e. '5 e t d t a an ble et c1 whichis held in place by anexternallyethreade'd retain ill screwed into. the internal. threads oil 15 outh of; the bottle] Other times" or coinpres dgas's'inayl'ie d. I

ree p ste as embiy ccm ifises fir 'fi 'f' ti e no 'cyilin cal-sheet steer piston f with an Outs de diameter of, approximately 4% inches to slip inside the eminence-1 fiame throvterhod'y t; The been; 21; or the piston is open"; onseqnent y; the piston; can b drawn to the back or the thrower" body l':- without interference the propeiling 'charge assembly; Three men prongs: 2| projecting from the back of the pistonwall have curved lips to fit into the 3 2- inch-radius curve at the flange of the flame thrower body. A packing 22 of suitable material such as soft felt may be placed in a recess encircling piston 3 to make a more fluid tight seal against leakage of liquid agent pastthe piston. The frontof the piston tapers at about 45-degree angle down to an opening which conforms with the tapered shape of barrel at its discharge end. The body 23 of a relief valve is welded to the inside of the piston wall at the front opening of piston 3 and the stem 24 of the reliefv valve pro-' A relief.

trudes through the e-inch opening. valve spring 25 seated in a retainer26 which is screwed into the back of the valve body 23, holds 4 and is also in contact with the wire 34 where it enters the fusee.

Each fusee is secured to the shield 30 by a bolt 48 through a hole 49 in the wood plug. When the fusee is in position for functioning, upon the outward movement of the piston 35, the pull wires 34 upon being pulled outwardly cause the scratching and burning of the igniting mixture Y43, and the wood plugs 46 simultaneously rupture and tear away the conical portion of the waterproofing seal 47 so that flame from the burning the valve disc 2'! forward against the tapered walls of the valve body 23, thus. closing off the T-shaped port 28 in the stem 24 of the relief valve. The retainer 26 in which the relief valve spring 25 is seated has a port 29 in the center through which the residual pressure passes when the relief valve is open.

The discharge and ignition assembly comprises primarily a cylindrical sheet metal shield 30 which serves both as a house for the fuzees 3| and as a shield in which the fuel is ignited after it is propelled from the cylindrical body of the flame thrower. The pressure disc adaptor 5, screwed into the adaptor socket 5 on the flame thrower body I, joins the ignition assembly to the body assembly. A -inch nozzle-like orifice 32 through the pressure disc adaptor serves as a nozzle through which the stream of fuel is propelled into the cylindrical shield 30 that houses the fuzees. A frangible aluminum pressure disc 33 seated in the pressure disc adaptor 5 seals the fuel in the flame thrower body before the flame thrower is fired. This pressure disc 33 is held in place by a retainer at the back end of the cylindrical shield 30 which screws into the pressure disc adaptor 5. Two pull-wire ,fuzees 3| are fastened, diametrically opposite, along the walls of the cylindrical shield, with their pull-wires 34 extending toward the front of the cylindrical shield 30. A hollow sheet metal piston 35 is slip fitted into the front of the cylindrical shield. The pull-wires 34 of the fumes 3| pass through holes in this piston'and are tied together, with as little play as possible, after the piston 35 has been inserted into the cylindrical shield 30. V Each of the fusee ignitors 3| as illustrated in detail by Fig. 3 comprises a tubular member 38 to the rear end of which is securely fixed a wood plug 39 by a wire staple 40. A cardboard tube 4| secured to a narrowed neck of the wood plug serves as a container for a burning composition 42 and an igniting composition 43. The burning composition 42 may be of a commercial type such as used in signaling fusees, e. g., containing potassium chlorate, carbon, and sulfur. The igniting composition 43 may be a mixture of potassium chlorate and finely divided carbon. A scratcher'material containing red phosphorus with lacquer and an abrasive, such as ground silica, acts as a coating on the coating 44 on an end portion of a pull wire 34 to complement the igniting mixture 43, for firing the mixture 43 when fractionally engaged therewith upon moving of the pull wire 34. A spot of solder 45 at a kink in the wire 34 prevents the wire from being pulled through the block 46 which is mounted on the wire 34. A water-proofed paper seal 41 envelops the fusee for water-proofing composition 42 can be ejected outwardly for ignition of discharging fuel from chamber 2. The piston 35 becomes completely ejected .by the pressure of the discharging fuel filling.

In the alternative form of the igniting means shown by Fig. 4, a tubular housing 38 contains a suitable ignitor cap 50, such as a 45 caliber pistol blank cartridge inserted in the open end,

a firing pin 5|, and a coil spring 52. The firing pin 5| is aligned with primer portion 53 in the cartridge 50, and the coil spring 52 under compression forces the firing pin into the primer 53 when an obstructing retaining pin 54 is Withdrawn to allow movement of the firing pin. A retaining clip 55 holds the cartridge and tubular housing 38 in place. vThe retaining pin 54 may be fashioned to be withdrawn manually or to be withdrawn automatically by a pull wire arrangement such as described with reference to Fig. 2

-. and Fig. 3.

In functioning, when the flame thrower operator grasps the finger ring l4 and pulls the retaining pin l3 out of the bottle support lo, the firing pin inside the bottle support I0 is freed and moves forward under the pressure of the firing pin spring I2. When the firing pin moves forward, the point of the firing pin ruptures the thin, frangible disc l8 in the mouth of the bottle that contains the propelling charge. The diameter of the firing pin is larger than the diameter of the hole through the retainer which holds the frangible disc in the mouth of the bottle; consequently, the firing pin enters the mouth of the bottle no farther than is necessary for the point of the firing pin to rupture the frangible disc. ,If desired, the retaining pin may be pulled from the emplaced apparatus by means of a lanyard.

Where the frangible disc in the mouth of the bottle is ruptured, the propelling charge of liquid carbon dioxide vaporizes, and the consequent pressure forces the firing pin II back. The expanding gas can then pass through the four /a-inch ports I! in the wall of the bottle support and thus enter the cylindrical body of the flame thrower, behind the hollow piston 3.

When. pressure is exerted by the expanding.

gas behind the piston, the three prongs 2| that hold the piston to the back of the flame thrower body are flexed inward, freeing the lips of the prongs from their fit against the curved part of the body flange, and thus permitting the piston to move forward against the fuel contained in the flame thrower body in front of the piston. The pressure of the piston on the fuel ruptures the aluminum pressure disc 33 that is seated just in front of the nozzle-like orifice 32 in the pressure disc adaptor, and the entire fuel charge is ejected in a stream through this nozzle-like orifice in the pressure disc adaptor.

With the initial surge of the fuel stream in the cylindrical shield that houses .the fuzees, the piston 35 in the shield is forced out the front of thershi'eld- Since the pull-wires 36 of theitwo fuzees 3| are fastened to this piston, the forward movement of this piston fires the fuzees. The balance of the fuel charge is ignited by these fuzees as the fuel passes in a stream through the cylindrical shield.

In expelling the complete fuel charge, the piston 2 in the flame thrower body moves forward until the relief valve stem 24, which protrudes from the tapered front of the piston, strikes against the shoulder of the pressure disc adaptor. After the forward movement of the relief valve stem is checked by the pressure disc adaptor 6, the piston 2 continues to move forward until the relief valve spring is completely depressed. In depressing the relief valve spring, the relief valve body; which is welded inside the tapered front of the piston, has moved forward so that the T- shaped port 28 in the stem of the relief valve now clears the wall of the relief valve body. With the relief valve open in this manner, the residual pressure behind the piston 2 is then discharged through the T-shaped port 28 and out through the nozzle-like orifice 32 in the pressure disc adaptor 6.

Wire clamps 5! may be welded to body I for aiding in carrying of the apparatus with straps passed through these clamps.

In using the projector as a one-shot flame thrower, the filling 2 may be a thickened or gelled gasoline or naphtha mixture of a type hitherto employed as flame thrower fuels. A suitable gelled gasoline of proper consistency comprises a 4% mixture of soaps, such as aluminum oleate, aluminum stearate, aluminum naphthenate and ahuninum soaps of coconut oil fatty acids. Other suitable liquid flame thrower fuels may be formulated by thickening naphtha hydrocarbons with substances such as rubber, synthetic polymers like isobutyl methacrylate, asphalt, resins and the like. Results of tests indicate that effective ranges of about 40 to 50 yards or more may be expected with fuels of proper consistency. The projector may also be used to project various other liquid chemical agents such as liquid vesicants, e. g., liquid mustard (dichloroethyl sulfide).

The liquid agent projector may be designed to have gas pressure developed for actuating the piston by firing a slow burning powder with remote control by electrical ignition. The firing pin may be released automatically by a chemical or mechanical delay device.

Accordingly, the liquid agent projecting apparatus may be operated for many purposes, e. g., for attacking a pill box, for defending a road block, or as a substitute for land mines. It also finds use as a highly devastating sabotage weapon.

Although specific shapes, dimensions and materials have been described in explanation of the illustrated embodiment, variations may be made in such details without deviating from the principles of the invention.

It is to be understood that various modifications come within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A liquid agent projector, including a tubular shield, a container having a tapered front portion, and a centrally erforated adapter plug portion rigidly securing said front portion and said shield together and being provided with a rupturable diaphragm adapted to be torn by fluid pressure generated in said container, said tubular shield having a slidably mounted piston, a fuse secured to the shield intermediate of said piston and said plug, having a frictionally ignitable portion and a wire ignition means in frictonal contact with said ignitable portion and having one of its end portions secured to said piston in a manner whereby the ignition wire will be pulled and ignite the ignitable portion when the shield piston is moved away from said fuse, a compressed fluid receptacle rigidly secured to the rear portion of said container and sealed by a rupturable diaphragm, a spring pressed firing pin mounted in a tubular casing, said tubular casing being perforated within said container and extending therethrough and having a locking pin engaging said firing pin outside of said container, said firing pin means being adapted to puncture the diaphragm of the compressed fluid receptacle when the locking pin is removed from the firing pin, said container having intermediate of its front portion and the compressed fluid receptacle a slidably mounted liquid sealed piston serving as a movable partition dividing said container into two variable capacity compartments, the front one of which is adapted to contain a liquid agent, and the rear one of which is adapted to receive the compressed fluid after the diaphragm of the compressed fluid receptacle has been punctured by the firing pin.

2. The liquid agent projector of claim 1, in which the container piston is tapered forwardly and is provided with a pressure release valve adapted to open when a difference in fluid pressure in the front and rear compartments of said container exceeds a predetermined amount.

THOMAS R. HAYNER. THEODORE LOEW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,304,710 Seidler May 27, 1919 1,463,518 Thomas July 31, 1923 1,538,968 Burke May 26, 1925 1,554,348 Hawkins Sept. 22, 1925 1,771,455 Wiley July 29, 1930 2,074,959 Guest Mar. 23, 1937 2,253,601 Armstrong Aug. 26, 1941 

